August 6, 2003—Recycling metals from scrap computers and mobile phones, and a seaweed-based metal coating, are among six projects to share nearly 1m in government funding, the British Department of Trade and Industry announced August 1.
The projects are part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s BIO-WISE Program, which encourages UK manufacturing and service companies to realize the economic and environmental benefits of biotechnology.
The new projects are:
- Recycling of metals in old computers and mobile phones— C-Tech Innovation has developed a cost-effective way of dissolving metals from circuit boards by removing first the solder, then the copper, and finally the precious metals. This technology will particularly be needed in two years when a new EC Directive goes into effect that makes producers of electrical and electronic equipment responsible for recycling their products.
- An improved pre-wash coating for metal components—All finished 4U Ltd. has developed an environmentally friendly industrial pre-wash coating derived from seaweed. Pre-wash coatings are used to prevent corrosion and increase paint adhesion; most are toxic.
- Hand-held water pollution testing kit—Advanced Enzyme Technology has designed a hand-held biosensor that measures in only four minutes the level of ammonia pollutants in the water. Ammonia is the most common pollutant in British rivers and is highly toxic to fish; sources include water treatment plants for industrial and domestic waste, and farm animal wastes. Currently, laboratory tests on river water samples are expensive, and the results can take several days.
- On-site toxicity testing equipment—Cybersense Biosystems developed a new instrument that makes use of naturally luminescent bacteria to test toxicity on contaminated land. With the new toxicity system, a sample can be taken and tested on site within 2 hours. Currently, results from tests can take weeks to come back from the laboratory.
- Improved medical diagnostic testing—this new technology will provide clinicians with tests that are not currently available on any other diagnostic system, and thereby increase the number of tests that can be carried out on patients’ samples. This will provide a wider range of diagnostic tests and more accurate diagnosis for many diseases. Randox Laboratories will scale-up production of this new technology initially developed by Discerna Ltd.
- Improved treatment of industrial and sewage waste water—many industries and sewage farms use huge tanks filled with pollutant-eating bacteria to clean their wastewater. The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology Oxford has developed an easier means of testing the toxicity of the water in the tanks, using a new luminescent bacteria which glows brighter when the water is no longer contaminated.
